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Isabelle Zehnder is the Founder and
President of the Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse
(CAICA). She has spent the past five years advocating for families
whose children have been abused, neglected, and who have died in
residential treatment programs.
In the early 2000's Isabelle Zehnder
received a phone call that changed her life. A family friend was
sent away to a "behavior modification program" in Western Samoa.
When he returned two years later he contacted Isabelle to let her
know about his experiences. She was shocked, to say the least. She
could not forget his words, or his pleas for help. Not only had this
boy endured two years of severe abuse and neglect, but his two
younger sisters had also been placed into programs similar to the
one he'd attended. The
information he relayed was shocking, to say the least. Isabelle
Zehnder asked this boy for telephone numbers of others who attended
the program. He was able to remember two boys' phone numbers who had
been in the program with him. She called and spoke with them and
their experiences were similar. Each of them provided her with phone
numbers of others who had been in programs. Eventually she was able
to obtain a list of parents, aunts, and grandparents whose children
had been in programs. They were from all walks of life - some were
doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, housewives - and they were
located all across the US. By this time she had spoken with dozens
of people - most had never met or spoken with one another. Yet their
stories were nearly identical.
As Isabelle Zehnder delved deeper
into this issue she became aware of the lack of information that was
readily available to the public. She worked diligently to learn all
she could about this silent industry. Together she and an attorney
wrote a report about Majestic Ranch, a program for children as young
as seven. They held a press conference at the Capital Building in
Salt Lake City, Utah. The public support they received was
encouraging.
Isabelle Zehnder continued to
search for information. She felt there should be one place that
people could go to get the information they needed about this
industry. Not knowing anything about creating a website she set out
to learn. Through trial and error she was able to put together the
CAICA website and has worked on updating it for years.
It didn't take long for Isabelle
Zehnder to realize children were dying in some programs. The more
she dug for information the more shocking it became. What began as a
burning desire to expose abuse in behavior modification programs
grew into something much more. She learned about restraint deaths,
children dying of dehydration because they were not allowed water
during hikes in hot dessert conditions, of children who were not
given basic medical attention that could have saved their lives, and
so much more.
She spent months preparing the
"deaths" section of the website, providing not only names, dates,
and cause of death, but as many articles and reports as she could
find on each child who gave their lives to this industry. While the
Government Accountability Office called for such a database to be
created back in 1999, none exists that tracks this information. The
website has been referred to as the most comprehensive website on
this issue and in 2006 Isabelle Zehnder received the TASH Award of
Excellence for the creation of CAICA and the website.
Some of the
accomplishments of CAICA include:
Providing what people have called
the most comprehensive website on this topic
Writing and submitting News Articles and Press Releases
Collaborating with Parents, Lawyers, Media, and Government
Officials to expose abuse, neglect, and deaths in residential
treatment facilities
Working with others to effect positive change
Networking with other advocates and supporters when abuse is
reported
Developing a large network of people all over the world who
believe in our cause to help stop abuse and deaths in residential
treatment settings and to hold those who have abused children and
teens accountable for their actions
Keeping the public informed via weekly List Serv updates provided
to Government Officials, Legal Professionals, Media, Law Enforcement
Agencies, Fellow Advocates, Universities, Researchers, Parents, and
other interested individuals
Mentoring victims who were harmed in residential treatment
programs
Spearheading a campaign to ban the use of deadly face-down prone
restraints
Assisting parents and lawyers when children have been placed into
programs by one parent without the knowledge or consent of the other
parent
Providing ongoing support to individuals who reach out for help
when children and teens are abused, neglected, or who have died in
residential treatment settings
Providing information to Universities who then share their
findings with others
Preparing letter explaining rights and responsibilities of staff
working with children
Every night as Isabelle Zehnder
would shut down her computer she would ask herself, "How could this be
happening in America?" And today, years later, that question
still resonates in her mind.
Her journey has been tough at
times, lonely at times, and exciting at times. She has learned of
staff members literally getting away with murder. She has also
experienced people coming together for the good of the cause. She
has watched friends and colleagues being defamed who were trying to
help. She herself was a victim of personal attacks. She was accused
of referring children to programs. Her words were taken out of
context and people have told outright lies. But she has not allowed
this to get her down. At the end of the day the most important thing
is - the children.
Isabelle Zehnder encourages people
who have a story to tell - to tell it. Too many parents have
believed they could not speak on behalf of their children because of
agreements they signed. Companies are not allowed to force people to
sign these types of agreements. If child abuse happens everyone has
the legal right and obligation to report it and to be protected for
doing so.
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